Pish med nytt (og vårlig) album

Lei vinter og mørke? Sett på Pish sitt nye album som får tankene til å drømme om våren (som ikke er aaaaaltfor langt unna)

Foto: Jørgen Hatland

Growing up is hard to do, but in the hands of Pish, it’s a lot of fun to listen to. Kakkmaddafakka’s Pish Vindenes is stepping out again as a solo artist, and his new album School’s Out tells the story of the messy twenties, the free-running highs and lows of what for many people, is the most rollercoaster period of their lives. Those stories are soundtracked by some of Pish’s strongest songwriting yet, clean, slick pop songs that sparkle and dance into life.

–I had Sweden on my mind a lot when writing the album

Growing up is hard to do, but in the hands of Pish, it’s a lot of fun to listen to. Kakkmaddafakka’s Pish Vindenes is stepping out again as a solo artist, and his new album School’s Out tells the story of the messy twenties, the free-running highs and lows of what for many people, is the most rollercoaster period of their lives. Those stories are soundtracked by some of Pish’s strongest songwriting yet, clean, slick pop songs that sparkle and dance into life.  School’s Out started life at the end of Pish’s 2018 summer tour, his first tour with the solo project. Back in Bergen and reflecting on the tour, he wanted to write some more Pish songs so he could deepen his catalogue, and have enough material to put together an hour-long live show. But as he started writing, he realised that the thematic strength of the songs he was putting together meant that he had more than a collection of songs – he had an album, one about finding your way in the world as a young adult, learning to become an independent person, and all the scrapes you get into along the way. “The overall theme is basically life after the point where you don’t get guided anymore”, says Pish. “It’s about how to manage life when you no longer have guidance from school or parents. Structuring your own life, and how you want it to become. How to cope with a new way of living”.  Pish wrestles with those ideas across the album’s songs. Opener “School’s Out” sees him juggling self-doubt, responsibility and identity (“This is my gang, these are my troops”) over a piece of soft, beautifully-detailed sunset pop. Elsewhere the album takes in glittering jangle-pop (“Psycho”) and strutting, disco-rock (“Freedom”), but all the songs are linked by their bright, vibrant sound, inspired by the half-Swedish Pish’s dreams of summer in Sweden. “I wanted to make the sound of Sweden. Fields of flowers, Swedish summers, Swedish girls. Midsommar vibe. I had Sweden on my mind a lot when writing the album”, says Pish. If Pish’s heritage inspired that aspect of the album’s sound, another source came from his listening habits. School’s Out’s flexible, innovative rhythms were influenced by his love of Nigerian dancehall, which brings an original sense of groove to the record’s indie-pop sound.   The album was recorded at rapid speed, with longtime producer Matias Tellez. Pish says: “We recorded the whole album, with drums and bass, in one and a half days. We laid down every track, in one and a half days, which is sensational. It’s totally crazy. Our drummer is super busy, so we could only get one and a half days of his time. So we had to get it done in one and half days. I’ve never experienced something like that”.  Your twenties can be a wild ride, and on School’s Out, Pish finds the sound and style to say goodbye to that era in the best way possible, with his best album yet.